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Tuesday, 3 February 2015

Pastures New, Corner of the Ball Room and The Burn

"Pastures New" :- Rural and idyllic. These are the spaces that we are fighting hard to protect as corporate greed and big money men try to encroach on the landscape. This is a horse field that sits between Rottingdean Recreation Ground and the wonderfully named Hog Plat Lane. The shot was taken from the edge of the recreation ground and is looking south towards the large allotments at the far end. Hog Plat Lane is a very steep rising rough track that connects the Beacon Hill Nature Reserve to the village of Rottingdean itself.

"Corner of the Ball Room" :- Right, dark and very old wood panelling form the vast majority of the beautiful 'ballroom'. The ceiling is very ornate with its intricate plaster patterns. This is the 'ballroom' located at the back of Bletchley Mansion in the famous grounds of the WWII code breaking hub that was (and still is) Bletchley Park. The Mansion dates from somewhere in the late 1870's. Around 1906 the interior was added as well as other embellishments to the entire building by Herbert Leon, a wealthy stokbroker who bought the building and the surrounding estate. During WWII this place was top secret with some of the top mathematicians and code breakers working 24/7. If only these wooden walls could talk!

"The Burn" :- Ah, I love finding myself unexpectedly in the right place at the right time. There's no way I could have planeed this shot. Even if I'd known there was going to be a sunset I couldn't have said what type or that the thick grey clouds would roll in and be integral to the scene. I couldn't believ my luck. I have a few other shots of this odd scene that I shall upload at some point over time. I love the greys and blues that form a vast majority of the image. Smack in the middle is the burned and twisted remains of Brighton's Grade 1 listed Victorian West Pier (built in 1866).